1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to a method for destination control in an intelligent network and, more specifically, to such a method wherein a destination list associated with a subscriber in the intelligent network is changed by virtue of an event message being transmitted when the subscriber logs on and/or logs off at a terminal which has access to the intelligent network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An intelligent network allows allocation of a personal telephone number as a service. This service is also called a xe2x80x9cone number servicexe2x80x9d, because a subscriber has an associated telephone number which is independent of a particular (telephone) connection and, accordingly can be regarded as a virtual connection.
An incoming call to such a telephone number is transferred by the intelligent network, more precisely by a service control node in the intelligent network, to a connection on the basis of a destination list associated with the subscriber or with his telephone number.
Such a destination list, also called a xe2x80x9chunting listxe2x80x9d, contains the telephone numbers of particular landline connections, mobile connections or other connections. In addition, the destination list contains predetermined time periods associated with the individual connections as a validity period.
By way of example, such a destination list may contain an entry stipulating that a subscriber can be reached on a landline connection in the office during a period from 8:00 hours to 17:00 hours and can be reached on a landline connection in his/her house or apartment during a period from 17:00 hours to 8:00 hours. Accordingly, calls which are then received for the subscriber during the period from 8:00 hours to 17:00 hours are routed to the landline connection in the office, whereas calls received during the period from 17:00 hours to 8:00 hours are routed to the landline connection in the subscriber""s apartment or house.
As a further service component of the intelligent network, the entries in the destination list can be changed by the subscriber himself/herself. The service provided for this purpose is called xe2x80x9ccustomer service configurationxe2x80x9d (CSC) and is now available over an Internet link for the service management node. For this purpose, the subscriber can use a web browser to call an IP address associated, by way of example, with a service management node of the intelligent network, and can change the entries in the destination list himself/herself. This service is called Web CSC. However, the entries in the destination list have to be changed manually by the subscriber whenever it is desired to set a different time sequence, for example other office times, or to change connections. Changing the destination list requires firstly Internet access and secondly a large amount of time.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to propose a method for destination control in an intelligent network which is much more flexible than manual administration and changing of destination lists and, in particular, adjusts itself largely independently to the whereabouts and reachability of a subscriber.
Accordingly, a fundamental aspect of the present invention is that a destination list associated with a subscriber in an intelligent network is changed by virtue of an event message being transmitted when a subscriber logs on and/or off at a terminal which has access to the intelligent network. This event message acts as a trigger for the intelligent network, in particular for a service management node for administering the services of the network, which changes the subscriber""s destination list. The event message is evaluated by taking into account conditions, and a corresponding entry in the destination list is ascertained and/or changed on the basis of the evaluation.
By way of example, upon logging on at a terminal in the subscriber""s office, the destination list can be changed such that all subsequent incoming calls for the subscriber are transferred to a landline connection in the office. Accordingly, upon logging off from the terminal in the office, the destination list can be changed so as to transfer incoming calls for the subscriber to the scriber""s mobile connection (a mobile telephone). If the subscriber logs on at a terminal at home, the destination list is, in turn, adjusted such that all incoming calls for the subscriber are now routed to his or her landline connection at home. The method according to the present invention advantageously changes the destination list automatically on the basis of event reports or messages without the need for manual intervention by the subscriber. The intelligent network evaluates the event message and redirects call transfer for incoming calls independently and flexibly.
Preferably, the change to the destination list is made on the basis of various parameters, such as time of day, date and/or inputs during logging on and/or off. This makes it possible, for example, for the subscriber to log off at his or her terminal in the office for the lunch break, as a result of which an event message is transmitted to the intelligent network together with the current time of day, and the destination list is changed in the intelligent network such that incoming calls for the subscriber are automatically answered in order to inform callers that the subscriber is at lunch.
The method takes a particularly simple form if the destination list is changed using a user identifier for the subscriber. Usually, the subscriber logs on at a terminal using a user identifier which can be transmitted to the intelligent network in the event message. This corresponds to authentication of the subscriber, which makes the method independent of particular terminals. The only prerequisite for carrying out the method is that, accordingly, a terminal which the user uses to log on or off must have access to the intelligent network.
Expanding on this concept, in another advantageous embodiment, an identifier for the terminal at which the subscriber logs on or off is transmitted, as a result of which the whereabouts of the subscriber easily can be determined in the intelligent network by evaluating an appropriate database. This determination of whereabouts can influence the change to the destination list such that, by way of example, incoming calls for the subscriber are always routed to a landline connection in the vicinity of the appropriate terminal. If no landline connection is available in the vicinity of the terminal, it is also possible to switch automatically to a mobile connection, a mailbox or a recorded announcement. As such, the destination list is dynamically adjusted to the whereabouts of the subscriber. In this context, whereabouts are naturally understood to be the terminals at which the subscriber logs on or off.
In another embodiment of the method of the present invention, the destination list is automatically changed at prescribed times of day or on particular days such that all incoming calls for the subscriber are routed to a mailbox or are answered using an automatic recorded announcement. Alternatively, change to the destination list also can be blocked at particular, prescribed times of day or on particular days. Accordingly, for example, incoming calls for the subscriber on the weekend always can be routed to the subscriber""s mobile telephone or answered using an automatic recorded announcement.
Preferably, the event message also can be transmitted in the form of a short message, as is frequently used in mobile telephones. As such, in principle, the destination list also can be changed from a mobile telephone; i.e., the mobile telephone can be used as a terminal for logging on or off.
The event message is preferably transmitted to a server in the intelligent network via an Internet protocol link, since an Internet link or an Internet connection in terminals is very common and inexpensive. In principle, this operation can be performed by a program executed upon logging on or logging off, specifically such that, upon logging on or logging off, the program sets up an Internet link to the server in the intelligent network and transmits the aforementioned event message to this server. Preferably, the server forms a service management node of the intelligent network; i.e., the event message is transmitted directly to a service management node. In this embodiment, an appropriate set of functions for processing the event message is made available on a server provided as service management node. This set of functions typically can be introduced by making additional program modules available on the server.
As an alternative to transmission of the event message to a server via an Internet protocol link, transmission also can be effected by radio to a base station coupled to the intelligent network. Preferably, the base station will be part of a mobile radio network which is, in turn, coupled to the intelligent network.
In professional applications, the terminal used is typically a personal computer (PC). Preferably, the PC can be linked into a local area computer network, for example, in a company, in small offices or in the private sector. If linked into a local network, it is sufficient, in principle, for one computer in the network to have a link to the intelligent network, such as a xe2x80x9cgateway serverxe2x80x9d used to perform all access operations from the local area network, for example to the Internet or to a WAN (Wide Area Network).
The PC also can be linked into the local area computer network via a radio interface. This is found to be particularly useful for portable terminals, such as laptops, since a line-connected link, which is usually subject to interference, between the terminal or the PC and the local area network is dispensed with. If the terminal or the PC is in the radio coverage area of the radio interface, the subscriber can log into the corresponding local area computer network using the terminal or the PC, and an appropriate event message for changing the destination list in the intelligent network can be sent at the same time.
The destination list is preferably in the form of a database in the intelligent network. The database has entries which associate particular destinations with the subscriber during predetermined time periods. These entries may be regarded as standard entries which can be changed at any time using the method according to the present invention. By way of example, the entries can be set to stipulate that the subscriber can be reached on his or her landline connection in the office during a period from 8:00 hours to 17:00 hours, and can be reached on his or her landline connection at home from 17:00 hours to 8:00 hours. Incoming calls for the subscriber are then redirected or transferred on the basis of these values set in the destination list. However, this can be changed, for example, by the subscriber logging on at his or her terminal at home at 9:00 hours, which automatically changes the destination list such that incoming calls are diverted to the subscriber""s landline connection at home.
The event message preferably is evaluated by taking into account conditions such as date, time of day and/or conditions prescribed by the subscriber. As such, the prescribed or set conditions are used to ascertain a corresponding entry in the database, and incoming calls for the subscriber are transferred to a connection indicated as destination in the ascertained database entry.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and the Drawings.